


Love Thyself

by SgtLeppard



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi | Fire Emblem: Binding Blade
Genre: Gen, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Esteem Issues, fake it til you make it i guess, i have no idea what else to tag this as
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 13:32:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10742694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SgtLeppard/pseuds/SgtLeppard
Summary: What kind of a person is Narcian, really?





	Love Thyself

**Author's Note:**

> Is this considered a character study? I'm not sure to be honest, but have this little take explaining Narcian's behaviour

That damn boy. It was all because of him that everything had gone to hell in a handbasket. That pesky little girl calling him "vulgar" didn't help matters, but that was more personal. As much as he didn't want to dwell on it, he couldn't help but do so.

It was no secret that Narcian spent hours on end making sure that he looked flawless as ever. One simple negative comment about his appearance would anger him. At least, they thought it was anger. It likely was, but Narcian didn't really care anymore. Yes, he took pride in himself, but for good reason. A mask. All of it. And it was only in private moments like this where he could finally take the mask off.

How much longer could he keep this up? How much longer until he broke from the pressure of trying to gain the approval of those he cares about? It ate at him how much he claimed to be the greatest in the world, yet felt the farthest from it.

Narcian laid his head in his hands, then stared up at the mirror. He could already hear the voices of his subordinates saying how the general never met a mirror he didn't like, what with how much time he spent primping himself. But no one was with him now. Why bother? While they were right to say he spent too long in front of a mirror, they were wrong to claim that he liked what he saw.

And what did he see? To the others, he saw a confident and flawless wyvern general who had no equal. But privately, he saw a weak man who desperately sought approval. Full of himself, bah. That was far from the truth. He knew no one really cared about him. It was a serious blow to his already next-to-nonexistent self-esteem, but that was what the mask was for. With that mask on, words meant nothing. With the mask, he was truly the best. Without it, however, he was vulnerable.

He was nothing.

As much as he knew he shouldn't think such negative thoughts about himself, he really couldn't help it. Was this the price of putting up a front, hoping for the companionship and approval he wanted? Somewhere in the back of his mind, Narcian knew this was not the way to get what he wanted, but it was too late to turn back. To completely change his attitude overnight would damage his reputation, regardless of how fake it was.

It was time for him to prepare for his next assignment. He would rather lock himself up in his room than don that weighty mask again, but he had a duty to fulfill and he needed to appear confident. Once he was ready, he stepped out, and the mask was back on.

Many called him narcissistic. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. At this point, he wasn't sure anymore. What he was sure of, if he didn't love himself...

...who would?


End file.
